At the SolidWorks Conference 2002, Las Vegas, the CD adapco Group announces the release of a new product, STAR-Works, which for the first time fully
integrates a leading Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code with a no-compromise intuitive CAD front end. As the name implies, SolidWorks combines
the best in class features of STAR-CD and SolidWorks. It aims to meet the demand of engineers for a single CAD and CFD solution to speed product
development, cut costs and improve product quality.

SolidWorks is well established as the market leader in desktop solid modelling offering unmatched performance, value, leadership in innovation and the
largest community of users. No other CAD system allows you to get product design work done as quickly and accurately.
STAR-CD is recognised for its powers and capabilities as a multipurpose industrial CFD code, arguably it is the technology leader for CFD. The code offers
unrivalled ability to handle complex geometries, a wide range of physical models, and fast, accurate solver technology.

The build-up of ice on aircraft wings is a dangerous condition which has been the cause of several accidents. The condition is so hazardous that the FAA has dedicated a full section to certification of aircraft under icing conditions.

At a recent FLUENT Users' Group Meeting, Dr. David Kohlman presented a short course on aircraft icing. The course covered the environmental conditions responsible for icing and a number of deicing and anti-icing systems in use.

Traditionally, aircraft icing was studied by performing experiments in an icing wind tunnel or by flying an aircraft in the wake of a tanker aircraft spraying water droplets. These methods are expensive and time consuming which lead researchers to computational modeling.

Most modern programs feature graphical user interfaces (GUIs) designed to ease the learning process for new users and make existing users more productive. GUIs provide us with a view into the model space which was once only visible in our mind's eye.

But has the GUI been an overall "win" for the CFD industry? Certainly the GUI has lowered the intellectual barrier required to start using CFD and that has opened CFD analysis to more markets -- markets which can't afford to support an in-house CFD expert. By pressing just a few buttons, a novice user can now generate a complete CFD solution without knowing any of the myriad details which lie below the surface. Questions of appropriate boundary conditions, turbulence closure, etc. never arise because all is hidden behind the powerful user interface.

Is using a GUI too easy? One argument is that the GUI, because of its high accessability, promotes uncritical use of CFD modeling. If we don't understand what the GUI is doing, then how can we ever hope to command it successfully? It is at this point that the GUI becomes a hinderance to the CFD process. The user errors it helps correct (the improper location of a boundary condition, for example), only serve to perfect an incorrect model.

CFX is holding a series of free interactive Web Seminars from the week of February 19.
Each e-vent runs approximately 1 hour in duration and you will require an internet connection as well as a telephone line (a toll-free phone bridge is used so no long distance charges are applicable) to participate.

Summary information on events, dates and times are directly below. Further details on e-vent content and on-line registration can be found at the e-vent website. Space is limited to 10 "seats" at each of the web events and sorry these events are ONLY AVAILABLE in North America.

NIVIDIA has launched the new GeForce4 family of Graphics Processor Units (GPUs). The GeForce4 is available in three versions: the GeForce4 Ti (desktop high-end), the GeForce4 MX (desktop mainstream), and the GeForce4 Go (mobile).

The new GPUs deliver powerful enhancements including:

up to 4 times the performance over previous GeForce generations

innovative anti-aliasing technology

nView(TM) multi-display technology

While NVIDIA has focused on the video game market, their products have always performed well for OpenGL-based MCAD operations. The new cards should be strong performers for pre- and post-processing CFD tasks.

AEA Technology has released the latest version of their CFD tool for the optimal design of chemical reactors.

CFX-ProMixus provides detailed analysis of mixing vessel processes through an embedded and fully automated computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver. Using an intuitive interface, the user specifies reactor configurations from an extendable library of tank, baffle and impeller templates. CFX-ProMixus then automatically performs a CFD simulation of the flow within that vessel. The output is presented as a gallery of images and tables that permits pre-selection of component designs and reduces the number of iterations needed to develop optimum mixing performance.